Welcome to our Institutional Review Board. The mission of the Western Connecticut Health Network IRB is to represent the interests of subjects by protecting their rights, privacy, and safety, first and foremost. The sections on Human Subject Protection explain why this is so important and how we get that done. Our IRB has been working to protect research subjects for over 30 years. The IRB Roster shows you who comprises the IRB.

Our team is committed to the highest ethical and safety standards.  Before approving a research project, we ask questions and gather detailed information, take a look at our submission forms.  Every research protocol and clinical trial is viewed through the subject’s eyes.  We assure that all available information necessary to make a choice whether to participate is provided, and is shared as more is learned throughout the course of the study.

Hundreds volunteer to participate in research every year at our institution. Currently, we have more than 100 active studies in progress. A wide variety of research is represented:  performance improvement studies, clinical interventions, and experimental drug trials. These include those developed here and those done in collaboration with other medical and academic centers. 

There are also multi-center clinical trials (both with the National Institute of Health and National Cancer Institute, and with pharmaceutical companies, hoping to bring new drugs and better treatments to patients).

In addition to subject protections, we assist researchers in their efforts to advance medical knowledge. Whether you’re a potential subject or a researcher, we hope you find our site useful. For researchers especially, this site provides easy access to submission forms and key policies. For subjects, we appreciate the opportunity for you to learn more about us.

We welcome your questions and comments.

Robert Bonwetsch, M.D.
Chair, Institutional Review Board

Julie Burgess, B.A., C.I.P.
Administrator, Institutional Review Board